| For
complete wax reports sorted by region visit http://www.swixracing.us
Event
American Birkebeiner
Cable to Hayward, WI
February 25, 2006
Forecast
Friday night cold and mostly cloudy, 30% chance of snow, low
temp 2F to -2F. Saturday, race day, cold with a 30% chance of
snow, 18mph WNW winds. High of 15F. Humidity is expected to
be between 60%-80%.
Course Conditions
Course is in great shape. Track is very firm. Snow is considered
very abrasive due to the sharp new snow crystals and transformed
older snow that is being brought to the surface by the tilling
of the grooming machines.
Considerations
1. Base Preparation- due to significant abrasiveness, you must
have proper base preparation to insure your race wax will stay
on the base. Clean glide zones with Swix CH10 or Swix Base Prep
088. Scrape and brush using Swix Coarse Bronze Brush (T0158)
or Swix Fine Steel brush (T0192). This is very important to
“open” up the base to receive race wax. Apply one
layer of Swix CH4. Scrape and brush with Swix Fine Steel Brush
(T0192).
2. Durability- for a race of this length, durability is key.
Therefore it is very important to use layers of wax and make
sure the base pores are 100% saturated. We are using Swix CH4
as a base layer because it is the “hardest” wax
in the Swix wax line.
3. Brushing – at temperatures this cold, if any wax is
left in the structure of the base, the sharp snow crystals will
grab onto this and slow you down. Therefore, it is paramount
that you brush very well after each layer application. Treat
each wax layer as if it is a final race layer. We recommend
using the Swix Fine Steel Brush (T0192) or the Swix Medium Bronze
Brush (T0162). These are by far the best brushes to use for
removing excess cold wax from fine structure.
Ski Selection & Structure
Use a medium flex ski with a fine grind / structure. If you
need to add structure to your skis, use the Swix T401 Super
Riller and apply a .5mm linear rill first followed by the .25mm
rill. Do this after race glide waxing & brushing is finished.
Do a final brushing after applying rill.
Glide Wax
Speed-At-All-Cost
Base Race Glide Wax: Apply two layers of Swix LF4. Iron in.
Let cool 10 minutes. Scrape and brush with Swix Fine Steel Brush
(T0192) or Medium Bronze Brush (T0162).
Race Glide Wax: Apply Swix FC1 Turbo Solid. Rub on base and
lightly hand cork in. Rub on second layer covering base very
well. Iron in with one pass down each side of the groove w/
iron temperature at 145C. Pass should take 5-6 seconds. Let
cool 20 minutes. Brush up wax using Swix stiff black nylon (T0160)
or Swix Horsehair (T0157) brush. Final brush w/ Blue Nylon (T160).
Performance Waves 1-5
Base Race Glide Wax: Apply one layer of Swix CH4. Iron in, let
cool 10 minutes. Scrape and brush with Swix Fine Steel Brush
(T0192) or Medium Bronze Brush (T0162).
Race Glide Wax: Apply two layers Swix LF4. Let cool 20 minutes,
scrape & brush out using Swix Fine Steel Brush (T0192) or
Medium Bronze Brush (T0162).
Performance Waves 6-12
Base Race Glide Wax: Apply one layer of Swix CH4. Iron in, let
cool 10 minutes. Scrape and brush with Swix Fine Steel Brush
(T0192) or Medium Bronze Brush (T0162).
Race Glide Wax: Apply two layers Swix LF6. Let cool 20 minutes,
scrape & brush out using Swix Fine Steel Brush (T0192) or
Medium Bronze Brush (T0162).
Note: On classic skis, be sure to cover kick zones with
base protecting tape such as Swix R0386 to keep the high flouro
Cera F out of the kick zone. If this is not done, the kick wax
will not adhere well to the base. After final brushing you can
remove tape
Kick Wax Application
Kick Zone Prep
Remove old kick wax and clean base with Swix wax remover
and Swix fiberlene. Let base dry. Use 80-100 grit sandpaper
and sand kick zone in a manner parallel to the ski base, not
cross hatching. The new Swix T0011 Cork & Sandpaper combi
tool works great for this!
Kick Wax
Base Binder: Make sure kick zone is clean and sanded
as per above. You need to apply a very durable binder layer
such as Swix Green V20, or best is Swix VG35 Base wax. Rub on
solid layer. Iron in. Let cool. Lightly cork smooth (2-3 strokes).
Apply 2 thin layers of Swix V40 Blue Extra. Cork very smooth
in-between each layer. You are now ready to apply final race
wax.
Race Kick Wax
Apply 6-8 thin layers of Swix VR40 Kick wax. Cork smooth after
each layer. Do not “drag all the wax down or up the
kick zone. Cork in both directions... pulling up from the
heel & down from the high point. Build the wax in the
middle of the kick zone which is directly under the ball of
your foot. |
